Justin Turner: ‘Ridiculous’ fans have rushed field three straight games

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had their past three games marred by fans making the ill-advised decision to sneak onto the field, and third baseman Justin Turner is getting sick and tired of the disruptions.

On Tuesday night at Chase Field, a minor male ran onto the field after the Dodgers’ 3-2 road victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks and ran at the team’s outfielders. He was tackled by security before reaching the players and presumably was arrested for trespassing, among additional potential charges.

The incident followed two additional instances of fans sneaking on to the field during Dodgers games, both involving young women making an attempt to hug Cody Bellinger. The first instance occurred Sunday at Dodger Stadium while the second happened Monday night at Chase Field. The two fans not surprisingly were both arrested.

The frequency of such incidents certainly points to the notion that a copycat mentality may have inspired the last two instances of fans feeling emboldened to rush the field. Turner rightfully believes it’s high time to lock down on such potentially dangerous situations, both for the players, but the fans and security as well.

“It’s getting ridiculous,” Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said Tuesday, via the Los Angeles Times. “It’s just not safe and it seems like they’re getting younger and younger and it’s going around now that nothing’s happening to these young kids. They just kind of get a slap on the wrist. So baseball’s going to have to do something to make it hurt enough to keep fans in the stands and not running out on the field.”

As Turner argues, perhaps it’s time for both Major League Baseball and local law enforcement to initiate harsher punishments for fans who engage in such behavior. In the interim, the only option arguably available is for ballparks to show a larger security presence, which perhaps would at least discourage fans from breaking local laws and league policy.